Soon, you may start seeing company logos dotting the landscape on Google Maps. While Google has experimented with different types of ads in Google Maps on and off over the years, it now looks like Google is going to make another push to monetize Google Maps. While the details about this project are still quite hazy, it seems like Google plans to launch this program in at least the US and Australia in the next few weeks. ]]>
A Google spokeswoman told the Sydney Morning Herald today that "one area in which we are looking to experiment is showing some easily recognizable brands and logos on the map to help people more easily find what they are looking for, but this is still in experimental form and we don't have any further details to share right now."
Currently, as far as we can tell, the only market where Google already offers these ads is Japan, where logos for companies like 7-Eleven and McDonald's appear on the maps. Kit Eaton from Fast Company wonders if the new ads will be contextual and generated based on user input. Judging from the ads that appear on the maps in Japan, these logos will appear on the map, no matter what the user is looking for. At least on the maps in Japan, these logos are very small and don't get in the user's way - though they definitely add more clutter.
Microsoft's Bing Maps already offers a slightly more sophisticated advertising package where certain sponsored listings are highlighted with a business' logo when a user performs a relevant search.
Just yesterday, Google also launched a new layout for the Place Pages on Google Maps that shows details about a business such as opening hours, images, and reviews.
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